BANGKOK — Queen Mother Sirikit of Thailand, a revered figure who brought timeless elegance and international acclaim to the Thai monarchy and later became a quiet but influential voice in national affairs, passed away at the age of 93, the Royal Household Bureau announced on Saturday.
Sirikit, who had largely withdrawn from public life after suffering a stroke in 2012, had been hospitalized since 2019 due to various health complications.
The palace said she developed a bloodstream infection on October 17 and died late Friday night.
A one-year mourning period has been declared for the royal family and household staff.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cancelled his planned attendance at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia and called for a cabinet meeting to arrange the royal funeral rites.
A STYLE3 ICON WHO DEFINED AN ERA
Married to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand’s longest-reigning monarch, Sirikit earned admiration both at home and abroad.
Her grace and modern sense of style made her a global fashion icon, while her dedication to charity and rural development projects endeared her to millions of Thais.
During her 1960 visit to the United States, where she attended a White House state dinner, Time magazine hailed her as “svelte” and “archfeminist,” while France’s L’Aurore called her “ravishing.”
Born in 1932, the same year Thailand transitioned to a constitutional monarchy, Sirikit Kitiyakara was the daughter of Thailand’s ambassador to France.
She met Bhumibol while studying in Paris and later recalled their first encounter as “hate at first sight” that eventually blossomed into love. They married in 1950 when she was just 17.
Sirikit worked closely with French designer Pierre Balmain, fusing haute couture with Thai silk to promote local craftsmanship, a move widely credited with revitalizing Thailand’s silk industry.
A ROYAL ADVOCATE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Throughout her life, Sirikit accompanied King Bhumibol on visits to remote Thai communities, overseeing development and livelihood projects that were broadcast nightly on national television.
In 1956, she briefly served as regent while her husband undertook a monkhood rite, a tradition among Thai men. Her birthday, August 12, was later declared Mother’s Day and a national holiday in Thailand.
When Bhumibol died in 2016, their only son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), ascended the throne, and Sirikit was formally recognized as Queen Mother upon his coronation in 2019.
A SUBTLE BUT POLITICAL FIGURE
Although Thailand’s monarchy is officially above politics, Sirikit occasionally made public remarks or gestures seen as politically charged.
In 1998, she publicly urged Thais to support Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, weakening an opposition-led no-confidence campaign.
Later, she was linked to the royalist People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which led mass protests that helped unseat governments aligned with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Her attendance at a PAD protester’s funeral in 2008 was viewed as a tacit royal endorsement.
Despite political controversies, Sirikit remains deeply venerated in Thailand, where strict lèse-majesté laws shield the monarchy from criticism.
Remembered as a symbol of grace, compassion, and maternal devotion, Queen Mother Sirikit leaves behind her son, King Vajiralongkorn, and three daughters.